textproduct: Quad Cities

KEY MESSAGES

- Temperatures cool off after today, keeping us below normal, especially during the overnights. Bitter cold wind chills possible each night. This weekend and beyond, we will see temperatures trend upward again, bringing much of the area near/above freezing by mid next week.

- We will remain dry through the remainder of the week, with increasing chances for precipitation Sunday and into the next work week.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 220 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

Broad trough remains draped over the Great Lakes Region, keeping us under northwest flow. A weak bout of energy will pass northeast of the area, but plenty of dry air will promote a dry forecast for today. Rather, we can expect some low-mid clouds passing by through the morning, but much of the area will see plenty of sun today. Temperatures today will generally be about 3-5 degrees warmer than they were yesterday, with northwest winds of 10-15 mph keeping a chill in the air. We will continue to see some scattered cloud cover as we approach the evening hours, but much of the area will start the night mostly clear. Thus, we should see temperatures drop off quickly this evening, especially in our north. Low temperatures will once again be in the single digits (south) to negatives (north), with light northerly winds. Increasing cloud cover through the night will stop temperatures from dropping much further after midnight tonight.

LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 220 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

We will remain quiet through the remainder of the work week, with northwest flow remaining overhead. This will continue to usher in cold advection, keeping temperatures below seasonal norms. High temperatures will be in the teens, with nights in the single digits to negatives. Winds will remain relatively light and northerly through this stretch as well. Thursday night is forecast to get quite cold once again, with winds of 5-10 mph. These cold temperatures and the breeze will yield bitter cold wind chills once again. We will see wind chills of 10 to 20 below zero through the night, which will bring us close to headline criteria, especially in our north. Since the last forecast package, we have seen nighttime temperatures increase a little bit, limiting the widespread 20s below zero. Thus, confidence right now remains low on the necessity of any headlines. Will continue to monitor.

This weekend and beyond, we start to see a bit of a change in the pattern, bringing more pleasant conditions than we have seen. Upper level pattern becomes relatively active through the weekend and into next week, with a couple waves that we have our eyes on. The first wave is set to come through on Sunday, with the next coming Tuesday/Wednesday. Ahead of these waves, guidance indicates some return flow to the area, increasing moisture. Thus, we will see precipitation chances with both of these waves. At this time, guidance favors the primary precipitation type as snow. Although, there is plenty of time for that to change, especially for the system in the middle of next week. Rather, just keep an eye on those days for potential light precipitation. As was mentioned, we are going to see return flow during this timeframe. Thus, we will also see warm advection, resulting in a gradual increase in temperatures each day. By the middle of next week, guidance favors much of the area seeing temperatures at/above freezing. This would mean that temperature are finally trending towards seasonal norms through the start of the next work week. The upper level pattern looks to remain active through next week, as a rex block-like feature sets up over the west coast. If this block were to set up, we will generally stay in a northwest flow regime, leaving us in the path of potential clipper systems.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 501 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

VFR conditions will prevail through the TAF period, with no sig wx anticipated at this time. Winds will start the TAF period light and westerly, trending northwesterly between 10-15 KTs after by mid to late morning. Otherwise, we will be left with some passing mid clouds, especially south of Interstate 80. Once again, all cigs will be VFR, and 5000 ft or above.

DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

IA...None. IL...None. MO...None.